The red carpet has been rolled up at the Cine Creta Maris in Hersonissos, but the conversation sparked on June 25 is just beginning. Hundreds of guests gathered for the official premiere of “2258. A Story for the Rebirth of the Earth,” an independent film produced by EYEQ Creative Media with the backing of the Metaxa Hospitality Group. While the premiere has passed, the documentary is now available for online streaming and offers you a front-row seat to the major transformation taking place in agriculture beneath our feet. It explores global problems caused by soil degradation but highlights a successful solution located right here in Crete.
Rather than focusing solely on the doom of environmental decline, the documentary presents the Lasithi Plateau as a working blueprint for the future. In this way, the film borrows much from Metaxa Hospitality Group’s Regenerative Agriculture for the Lasithi Plateau and Its People | Towards a Sustainable Food Destination.
Voices from the Soil and the Stage
The premiere featured several key figures in the Cretan tourism and agricultural sectors, all of whom emphasized the urgency of soil health.
Andreas Metaxas, CEO of Metaxa Hospitality, framed the documentary as a catalyst for necessary conversations. “The film opens a very important discussion about soil health, the future of our food, and the need to revitalize the countryside,” he stated. He shifted the credit away from the corporate backers, noting, “the true protagonists of the film are the producers of the Lasithi Plateau who decided about four years ago, through our collaboration, to try a different path, that of regenerative agriculture.”
Stavros Arnaoutakis, the Regional Governor of Crete, praised the initiative as a pioneering effort. He highlighted how the program positions the Lasithi Plateau as a standard-bearer for connecting agriculture with hospitality, generating tangible value for both the environment and the local society.
Anna Pollock, founder of Conscious.Travel and a prominent international voice in regenerative tourism, delivered the keynote address. “In an international environment of interconnected crises and increased uncertainty, regenerative agriculture can form the basis for a new model of hospitality with vision and substantial commitment to visitors, local communities, and the land,” Pollock explained. She added, “Metaxa Hospitality Group recognized in time that the future of hospitality is directly linked to soil health and the well-being of rural areas.”
Sissy Papadogianni, the writer and researcher behind the film, discussed the massive global implications of the project. She traced the creative inspiration directly back to the personal stories of the Lasithi Plateau farmers and their initial introduction to regenerative practices.
More information about Metaxa Hospitality Group’s regenerative agriculture initiative for the Lasithi Plateau is available on the company’s official website.
